Yeah...
If we're reaching a point where even simple fights can't scare TPCi into realizing that their current grasp on the TCG isn't working then there's really only two things are inevitable.
Firstly, someone's going to take these fights too far and end up fatally injuring someone (if not ending their game outright) and that
will scare the spit out of big box retailers to the point where they'll either stop selling TCG products for a while or they'll shift it to online drops, neither of which benefits the casual consumer.
Secondly, if the first goes by and TPCi continues to act like nothing is wrong with the way their supplying distributors and retailers (outside of "underestimating" demand for a set that's been known since June 2024) then there's a good chance that there are malicious actors within the company's TCG division considering this problem's happened several times in recent history. As far as fixing it is concerned then the only way to do that is to drastically restructure TPCi's TCG division and cull said bad actors from their payroll.
Agreed. If there was plenty of product for everyone to go around, there wouldn't be scalping or outrageous prices. The demand is demolishing the supply right now & Pokemon are getting new fans from different markets they didn't predict. Pokemon needs to step it up & get the card printers kickin' into gear.
Part of the problem is that TPCi's printers are already printing at the maximum capacity, the only way for them to boost said capacity is to buy more printers and/or printing companies.
TPCi could fix this at any moment by just printing product to demand. However, they care more about the scalper's trust in the resale value, than the consumer's trust in the product's availability.
And even then you'd still have the garbage-tier Secret Illustrator Rare pull rate we've had since Paradox Rift, seeing people opening 200+ packs without any "hits" is just demoralizing.
Let’s hope the states implement that
I've seen some LGSs implement it for selling products at MSRP (when they offer it of course) but implementing it on a wider scale is almost impossible, especially when a majority of stores don't get product from TPCi directly.
I still believe a good distribution will do the job too:
Brick and mortar stores first, webshops 2nd
Too bad a majority of distributors just as crooked as the various streamer-shops are, just look at MJ Holdings selling TCG products for WAY over MSRP via a shell company on Walmart's website.
TPCi inspires no confidence in me after the last 4 months.
They have no ability to gauge what's going on or to predict really obvious things that will drive up demand (like Pocket launching, or Prismatic Evolutions being based around Eeveelutions) and they've done absolutely nothing to address anything that's happening besides issuing a generic statement on social media months ago. What good is a vending machine screaming "no loitering" at us when the vending machine has nothing inside of it anyway?
If anything, they've kowtowed to all the scum that's made this hobby untenable since November. Nobody wants to buy our 2023 sets? Well make the pull rates bad. Nobody wants our poorly themed special set Shrouded Fable? Better short print sets after it that people will clearly want. As long as we don't have overstock, it's all good!
Seconding this, they're basically treating the TCG like commodity (like WTOC did when they had the Pokémon TCG license) rather than a game these days.
Unfortunately I don't think much will change unless the fandom conducts and actual in-person protest (because companies these days know that an online one can and WILL peter out whilst receiving no media coverage) and the fandom has become too "domesticated" for that to ever happen due an intense fear of rocking the boat too much and being reprimanded by TPCi over it.
